


An Aroace in Need of Space...and Hamburgers

by slytherinintj13



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aromantic Asexual Jughead Jones, Best Friends, Conspiracy Theories, Demisexuality, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff and Angst, Hamburgers, High School, M/M, Mild Language, Other, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Protective Betty Cooper, Queerplatonic Relationships, Southside Serpent Betty Cooper, Southside Serpent Cheryl Blossom, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, Teenage Drama, Transgender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2019-09-02 00:15:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16775788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slytherinintj13/pseuds/slytherinintj13
Summary: A story in which Jughead Jones struggles with identity, Betty Cooper is the best friend he could ask for, and the two develop a Queerplatonic Relationship. They are perfectly happy, but there is one small problem: their friends don't understand their relationship, and they write it off as a romantic relationship, upsetting Betty and Jughead.





	1. Not a Typical Thursday Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, readers! This is something I felt the need to write because I am still upset that in the Riverdale T.V. show, Jughead is not portrayed as aromantic and asexual; however, he and Betty have great chemistry, and I want them to have more than friendship while maintaining Jughead's sexuality as is shown in the comics. Thank you, enjoy!

Jughead Jones walked through the halls of Riverdale High, making his way to the lounge area, hoping that at least one of his friends had a free period first; he did _not_ want to spend the first hour of his day trying to ignore Reggie Mantle and Josie McCoy--the school's most recent couple--as they performed a sickening smooch-fest. Jughead frowned at the thought, recalling his last attempt to get Reggie and Josie to stop using the student lounge as a place to do things that were not school related. That resulted in some talk about how Reggie and Josie were simply teaching each other some new material for biology class." Jughead shook his head to clear the thought, and looked up at his friends as he entered the lounge, a smile replacing the disgusted expression he wore just a few moments earlier. 

"Hey, Jughead, get over here!" Archie called from one of the couches, waving his hand in greeting. While making his way over to Archie, Jughead did a quick scan of the room and noted that there were several other students dispersed throughout the room, and he sighed in relief; at least one of them had to have a free period first. 

"You do know there's no need to wave to me, right? I mean, did you think I wouldn't see the flaming red hair you insist isn't dyed?" Archie rolled his eyes, doing his best to act annoyed by Jughead's joke, and moved to the end of the couch, making space for Jughead. Jughead chuckled and raised his hands in surrender, before saying "I was only kidding, Archie. So, what's up?" Archie's eyes brightened instantly, and he turned slightly to face Jughead. After quickly glancing around the room, Archie finally spoke, his voice so quiet it was almost a whisper.

"Ok, so you know how I said I kind of wanted to get to know Veronica, the new girl better? Well, it turns out she and Betty have become pretty good friends--I think they met trying out for the River Vixens or something, but I'm not really sure. Anyways, Betty, Veronica, and I all have English class together, and since we never learn anything in that class, I got to talk to Veronica a lot."

"Is she cool? Not that I don't trust Betty's choice in friends, I just want to know what she's into," Jughead asked curiously, doing his best not to sound like he was gossiping--there was enough of that at Riverdale High already, and he was certainly not going to add to it.

"If you're asking me if she's into D&D, motorcycles, card tricks, and writing for the school paper, the answer is no," Archie said in a tone that was half serious, half joking. At that, Jughead groaned and threw his hands up in exasperation, leaning further back into the couch. 

"Ok, but that isn't the point," Archie continued. "The point is that Betty had the great idea that we take her to Pop's so she can get to know the town a bit better."

"Well, how can I say no to a hamburger?" Jughead smirked, and Archie chuckled in amusement. 

"Ok, we're going to meet up there tonight after football practice ends," and Jughead nodded in confirmation, and Archie stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Alright, I've got math class, and you know how the teacher gets if people are late. Besides, I've already been marked tardy twice in that class, and that's just in the last month and a half!" 

"Ok, see you later," Jughead said, raising a hand in some kind of goodbye wave, despite not actually turning around. As he leaned down to get his computer out of his backpack, he felt someone sit down in the space Archie had been sitting in, and he glanced over his shoulder to see who it was. Much to his relief, it was Kevin Keller, and while they weren't particularly close, they still considered each other friends. Sitting back up, computer in hand, Jughead smiled in greeting at Kevin. "What's up?' he asked, already opening his computer and pulling up half-finished documents for the next edition of the school newspaper, the Blue and Gold. 

"I actually wanted to talk to you about the Blue and Gold." This peaked Jughead's interest, and he stopped typing to look at Kevin in surprise.

"Are you interested in joining the writing team? Well, if you can call it a team, that is; the only members are Betty and me at the moment."

"Sorry, Jug, but I'm not here to join the 'team' as you call it."

"Fine Kevin, but we could really use your input, and we both know you don't have a near-perfect GPA because of your math skills." 

"Don't give me those snarky comments, or those puppy dog eyes, Jones, I don't have time to join the club and write so often. As you so kindly pointed out, I am not known for my excellence in math, so I need to put in extra time to get my grade up a few points" Kevin responded, slightly frustrated. He huffed in annoyance before refocusing and turning back to Jughead. "What I wanted to talk about is a topic I think it would be cool to address in the paper, though." 

"Ok, shoot," Jughead responded, a hint of sarcasm lacing his curious tone.

"So, you know how I have been trying to start a formal LGBT+ club for the past couple years?" Jughead nodded, a little unsure of where this was going. "Well, I finally got enough people interested and a signature of approval from a teacher to start the club, which is great. But club sign-ups are over for the year, so there won't be a good opportunity to announce that the club is officially a thing, and people can still join. So, I was wondering if you could add an article about it in the next edition of the Blue and Gold to help spread the word."

Jughead noticed Kevin seemed slightly nervous before saying, "sure thing, Kevin. I just need more details, like the official name of the club, when and where the club meetings are, and a brief summary of what activities you guys are going to do."

Kevin smiled and nodded excitedly, and said in "I'll email those things to you by the end of the day tomorrow, that way you have the weekend to look it over and stuff. Oh, and, uh, thanks, Jughead. It's nice that you agreed to adding the club announcement to the paper, even with a kind of short notice."

"No problem, I'm glad you finally got to make the club a real thing," Jughead said, smiling. He fished his phone and earbuds out of the pocket of his leather serpent jacket, already thinking about how he could incorporate Kevin's club announcement into the paper. Kevin nodded and stood up, moving to sit by Joaquin on a different couch. He was probably sharing the news, Jughead figured. 

As he glanced at the clock on the wall, Jughead saw there were only twenty minutes left before the next class: in his case, history. The realization caused him to sigh in frustration; he was not in the mood to listen to a lecture about some war that happened in nineteen-something-or-other. In addition. he never looked forward to the teacher's monotone voice, which never failed to make him sleepy--and that was when he wasn't tired going into the class. Dismissing all thoughts of the upcoming history lesson, Jughead turned back to his computer. 

Originally, he'd planned on using this class period to work on the school paper, which he was a little behind on--not that he would ever tell that to anyone. But now, after his discussion with Kevin, Jughead was having trouble focusing on the piece he'd started, but had yet to finish, about why the school should make the lunch items and snacks they sold cheaper. A yawn escaped his mouth as he slid his computer into his backpack, and he picked up his phone and headphones, which had been lying on the couch next to him since he first took them out of his jacket. He inserted his headphones under his beanie and into his ears, and decided to just put his music on shuffle. He rotated on the couch so that he was essentially lying down, and he let the music silence the numerous thoughts floating around in his head. 

Before he knew it, the sound of the school bell rang, waking him from a slumber he didn't even realize he'd fallen into. He flinched at the noise, causing him to lose his balance and almost fall off the couch, and he finally registered what was happening. His eyes widened in shock, and he gathered his things hastily, rushed out of the lounge, and ran down the hallway.


	2. Meeting New People is Kind of Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica have dinner at Pop's, giving Jughead the chance to meet Veronica. This is also the unofficial beginning of the Veronica/Archie relationship because they flirt a little. Jughead receives the information from Kevin about his club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: wow, I can't believe people are actually reading this! Thank you so much for reading; it makes my day to see that people are actually expressing interest. This is kind of a filler chapter (sorry), but in the next one we will get to see the first club meeting and Jughead exploring his identity. Also, there will be some more details about the relationships between Joaquin/Kevin, Cheryl/Toni, and mentions of Reggie/Josie and Veronica/Archie. The next chapter will be where we really get into the plot because now everyone knows each other, so I'm really excited for that. I will try to update by next Wednesday at the latest, enjoy!

"Hey guys," Jughead said, sliding into the booth near the back of Pop's his friends had chosen, inwardly relieved that the new girl, Veronica, wasn't there yet. Archie smiled and moved over, allowing Jughead to sit down next to him. 

"Hey, Jug. How's it going? Better than this morning, I hope" Betty asked, a mischievous smile playing across her lips. Jughead raised his blue-green eyes to meet her lighter sky-colored ones, doing his best to maintain a straight face. Betty raised an eyebrow, deciding to go along with Jughead's antics. In response, he quirked one corner of his mouth into a slight smirk, and both he and Betty burst into fits of laughter giving up the act. 

"I still don't understand the game you two play, is it some kind of code? I mean, it does sound like something Jughead would do. But you, Betty? I don't think so" Archie said, shaking his head in confusion and moving his hands animatedly between the Betty and Jughead. The two shared a quick glance before bursting into laughter once again, causing Archie to throw his hands up and lean back in exasperation. 

"Archie, we don't have a secret code or game or anything like that," Betty said once she had regained her composure. "It's just nonverbal communication, like when a teacher says to work with a partner and you make eye contact with the person you want to be partners with."

"Only it just kind of turns into a contest of who can hold out longer before laughing," Jughead added, having finally recovered from his seemingly uncontrollable laughter.

"Although, you do make a good point, Archie." Betty continued, "Jughead would definitely make up a secret code." All three of them laughed at that, when the small bell that alerted the workers to new customers rang, causing them all to look up at the door. 

A girl with dark, shiny hair and tanned skin stepped through the door, looked around quickly, and smiled when she saw Archie and Betty, sitting at a booth. There was someone else at the table, she assumed he was their friend Jughead; Betty had mentioned he might be there. Her heels clicked against the floor as she made her way towards where the group was sitting, and Betty looked over her shoulder to smile at Veronica, wanting her to feel welcome. 

"Hey, V, how's it going?" Betty asked as Veronica took a seat next to her. 

"Oh, you know, just unpacking boxes so that I actually have clothes to wear besides this," she replied, gesturing at the outfit she was wearing. Betty gave her a look of condolence before Veronica turned towards the table so she was no longer just speaking to Betty.

"Hey Archie" she said, a slight blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Hey," Archie responded. Jughead was about to introduce himself when Archie said "so, this weekend if you need any help unpacking, just let me know; I'm happy to help you and your family move in." Now it was his turn to blush a little, smiling as he saw Veronica nodding at him from across the table. 

Turning once more, Veronica extended her hand to shake Jughead's. "I don't think we've been formally introduced; I'm Veronica Lodge."

"Jughead Jones," Jughead said, shaking Veronica's hand. He was about to ask Veronica how she liked the town so far, how school was going, and other questions that came up when engaging in small talk when a waitress appeared at their table, four menus in hand. 

"Hi, welcome to Pop's, I'll be with you shortly" she said, handing out the menus before walking away to wait on another table. Veronica opened her menu, deciding what to order, a little confused as to why no one else was opening theirs. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, glancing around the table, and Jughead realized she probably felt like they were all staring at her, which would make anyone uncomfortable. 

"We come here a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean so often that it cannot possibly be healthy. I'm pretty sure we all have the menu memorized" Jughead said lightly, as he looked at Veronica. She laughed a little and seemed to relax, glad someone had picked up her discomfort and was able to lighten the mood. 

A couple minutes later, the waitress returned to collect their orders. Paper in hand, poised to copy the order, she looked to Betty, waiting to hear her order. 

"I'd like a fruit cup, an order of fries, and a strawberry milkshake, please" Betty ordered politely, a sweet smile on her face. Veronica was up next, and she ordered a grilled cheese and chocolate milkshake, and--after some encouragement from those around her--a bag of potato chips. After Veronica was finished ordering, the waitress turned to Archie, who asked for a sprite and a large order of chili fries. 

The waitress turned to give the order to Pop, paused to look over her shoulder at Jughead, not even bothering with her pencil and paper, before saying "the usual, right?" 

Jughead smiled in return and said "yes ma'am," giving a two finger salute as he said so. "You know me so well," he called to the retreating waitress, and laughs could be heard from both her and Pop at that. 

"Wow, I guess you really do come here often," Veronica said, her eyebrows raised, and the whole table laughed and nodded in confirmation.

* * *

About an hour later, after everyone had finished eating, the waitress returned with the bill, and Archie, Betty, and Jughead started to pull money out of their wallets, prepared to form a small pile in the middle of the table. But before they could get that far, Veronica stopped them.

"Wait!" she called out. "I got this one, guys. It was really nice of you all to take me out to dinner and tell me about the town, and I want to thank you, so let me get the check." Archie and Betty started to protest as Jughead just sat there, shocked. It was rare for people to be so generous with their money, and it caught him off guard for someone to offer to pay the bill. He finally came out of his dazed state, about to say there was no way she should be the one to pay the bill, but Veronica raised a finger, silencing the table. "I won't take no for an answer, so I recommend you stop trying to change my mind. Now, I need to get home soon, otherwise my parents won't be too keen on the idea of me hanging out with you in the future. Thanks for a fun evening, see you around!" she said, grabbing her credit card from the waitress--who none of them had even seen take Veronica's card in the first place--and with that, she walked out of Pop's, three shocked teenagers staring after her. Silence hung in the air as Archie, Betty, and Jughead gathered their things and began to leave, sure to thank Pop on the way out. The trio waved to each other as they went their separate ways, all of them tired and eager to finish up their homework and get some sleep.

As Betty and Archie drove off towards the Northside, Jughead finished strapping his helmet on and was about to mount his motorcycle, when he his phone's text alert sounded. He rolled his eyes as he pulled his phone from his pocket, assuming it was just his dad telling him to get home. Instead, he saw he had a text from Kevin, which read: _I emailed you the stuff you need. Thanks again, see you tomorrow._

Great, Jughead thought. Now how am I supposed to be able to sleep when I have all this new material at my fingertips? "This is going to be a long night," he muttered to himself before driving South towards his trailer.


	3. Boring Mornings and Lazy Afternoons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait; I have been really busy. I had to split this chapter into two separate ones so chapter length stays fairly consistent and so there wouldn't be two large ideas crammed into one long chapter. Thanks for reading, leaving kudos, and commenting! I'll try to update soon, but for now, enjoy this chapter!

"It's way too early for this," Jughead muttered when his alarm sounded the next morning, jolting him awake with its loud, obnoxious rings. Groaning in frustration, he sat up to silence the alarm--or the "Robot-Banshee Death Child" as he liked to call it. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking to adjust to the sunlight flooding into his room, and when he could finally see, he noticed his computer was perilously close the end of his bed, his phone was on the floor, and a book was held loosely in his hand, his finger wedged between pages. After adjusting his beanie to ensure it was places securely on his head, he flopped back down on his bed, prolonging the time between waking up and going to school as much as possible. Knowing he couldn't lie there forever--no matter how bad he wanted to--he finally dragged himself out of bed, all the while cursing his never-ending thirst for knowledge. 

As he started to get dressed, grabbing the first tee shirt he could find, along with a pair of jeans, black boots, a charcoal flannel, and his serpent jacket, Jughead recalled how he lay in bed last night, devouring the information held within the documents Kevin had sent him. His plan had been to just glance over the stuff to get an idea of what he was working with, but once he started reading, he couldn't stop. It was addicting. He found himself more and more interested in the community several of his friends were a part of, and he wondered why he'd never looked into it before. In just a few hours, he'd learned more than he could have predicted; there were a documents which looked into parts of the LGBT+ community that weren't discussed as often as others, information on the way discrimination existed within the commentary itself, and some fascinating, reliable statistics. As much as Jughead wanted to continue his research and start writing the article, he knew it would have to wait. After all, he did still have to go to school. 

* * *

The day seemed to drag on, and Jughead was tempted to make sure the clocks at the school were actually working because it seemed as though every time he glanced at the clock, no time had passed. 

Finally, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch, and Jughead bolted from the classroom he was sitting in, making his way to the cafeteria. As doors opened and students fled classrooms, the halls got more crowded, much to Jughead's annoyance. He pushed through the crowd, but when he heard someone call out his name, he spun around, looking for whomever had spoken, and he spotted someone waving in his direction from a large group gathered by the lockers lining the hallway. He made his way to the group, trying to see past the students headed towards the cafeteria. After what felt like a long time, the halls started to clear as the rush ended, and Jughead walked up to the group, smiling when he saw Toni standing next to Sweet Pea, Fangs, Cheryl, Betty, and Veronica. 

"Took you long enough to get here!" she said.

"Well, you are kind of hard to see, Toni" jughead said, smiling. Toni crossed her arms, and was about to speak, but before she could, Jughead said "Especially when you are surrounded by all of these normal-sized people, shortie." The whole group laughed at that, and Toni slapped his arm playfully. 

"It's not my fault that _this one_ ," she said, tilting her head towards Sweet Pea, "didn't care to help me get your attention." Jughead chuckled as he saw the sparkle in Sweet Pea's eyes and his mischievous smirk.

"Hey, it is not my fault!" Sweet Pea added, raising his hands in surrender. "All I said was that because you wanted to talk to Jughead, you should be the one to get his attention." 

"You need to talk to him too, and we both know it. You just think it's funny to watch me jump up and down to see over everyone else!" 

"Well, you aren't wrong about that, it's pretty entertaining," Sweet Pea shrugged. "But that's not the point here." Turning to Jughead, he said "So, we were wondering if you're down to ditch the last few classes with us." Jughead raised his eyebrows and turned to Betty, who looked like she was about to burst out laughing any second. 

"Was this your idea, miss near-perfect attendance?" 

"Actually, it was mine" Veronica said, stepping forward, reminding Jughead of her presence. While he was surprised a new student was already ditching, he didn't think it was really a big deal; she seemed smart enough. 

"I'm in, but there is one condition" Jughead said, putting on a serious expression, crossing his arms, and making eye contact with everyone before his eyes locked with Veronica's. 

"And what would that be?" Veronica questioned, a slight edge to her voice. 

"If we're leaving, the first stop has to be Pop's; I'm so hungry." As if to emphasize his statement, his stomach grumbled. 

"I thought you were being serious!" Cheryl said, giggling and nudging Toni's shoulder jokingly.

"Oh, I'm serious; I don't joke about food--especially not hamburgers!" The group made their way to the parking lot, excited to spend some time together outside of school. 

* * *

The group entered Pops, and while Jughead was enjoying himself, there was something bothering him. As he reached over the table to grab a handful of fries, he asked "Hey, Where's Archie?" No one had an answer, and the table fell silent, each person lost in thought. 

"He's probably playing the guitar or something" Betty piped up after a few moments. "I texted him earlier, but I haven't heard back."

"Guys, there is an easy way to solve this," Veronica said as she got up from her seat and headed towards the door, phone in hand. "I'll be back in just a minute, I just have to make a quick call," she yelled to the table before disappearing through the doorway. The people seated at the table looked at each other in confusion; they wondered why a call from Veronica, of all people, would receive a different reaction than a call from any of them. The group had already started talking about what to do next when Veronica returned to her spot at the table, looking satisfied with herself. 

"Archie will be here in a few minutes, he just got out of class late and missed our messages from earlier," she declared. Instantly, all heads turned towards her. "What is it? Why are you all looking at me?" she asked, confused. 

"O.M.G.--I know that look!" Cheryl teased, dropping her jaw. "Someone has been doing a little flirting, haven't they?" she asked Veronica, causing her to look down and blush slightly. As a car pulled into the lot outside of Pop's, everyone turned to look, and they were met with the of see Archie behind the wheel, grinning. "Clearly you aren't the only one who has developed an interest," Cheryl whispered, smirking, before turning her attention towards Toni. 

Veronica was about to reply, but Archie entered at that exact moment, announcing himself with a loud "hey guys!" Just as he started to sit down, the waitress came over and took their used dishes and gave them the check. Archie frowned a little as he realized everyone was ready to leave; he didn't want to eat alone. 

Betty saw his frown, and asked if he wanted them to stay and wait for him. He shook his head and shrugged, watching the group shuffle out of the restaurant. Veronica was still there, but all her things were packed into her purse, ave for her phone, so Archie assumed she was about to leave too. After sending off a quick text, she set her phone down, but she made no move to stand. 

Instead, she looked up at Archie and said "you didn't think I'd call you here only to leave, right?" Archie looked down sheepishly but quickly returned his gaze to Veronica. 

"Well, to be honest, I didn't really know" Archie responded, causing Veronica to laugh and shake her head in a mixture of amusement and exasperation. 

Meanwhile, outside the diner, Cheryl, Toni, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Jughead, and Betty were all standing around their bikes, making sure everyone was ready to go. The group had decided they to split up for the afternoon so they could home and rest or spend time with their partner; both of which sounded appealing to the group of tired students. After making plans to meet upat the White Wyrm tomorrow night, people turned on their engines and left the parking lot, driving towards the South Side. Fangs was the first to speed off, followed by Cheryl and Toni, who were both on Toni's bike, Cheryl behind Toni, her arms wrapped around the other girl's torso. Next was Sweet Pea, who nodded his head in departure before increasing the speed of his bike, causing the engine to rev loudly. 

"He won't be sneaking up on anyone with that engine," Betty joked as she climbed onto Jughead's bike to sit behind him. Jughead chuckled in response and muttered what sounded like "you got that right," but Betty wasn't entirely sure; the wheels and engine made it hard to hear. Unlike all the other bikes who had already left, Jughead turned towards the Northside of town, headed for Betty's house. She smiled as they drove, looking forward to an afternoon of working on the school paper, discussing conspiracy theories, and watching movies with Jughead.


	4. Aced It.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead and Betty finish writing the article for Kevin's club, and they spend some time together and get closer as they bod over both being on the asexuality spectrum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, readers! I actually am pretty happy with this chapter; it's full of emotions and has some angst with fluff. Please enjoy! I will try to update soon, and thanks for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos!

Betty grabbed the stack of paper from her mom's printer excitedly and smiled to herself; they did it. She and Jughead had written the article for Kevin's club--which turned out to be more like a poster--faster than either of them had ever written an article. It had taken a little while, but it was totally worth it, she thought to herself as she walked to the kitchen, where Jughead stood, devouring a bag of popcorn. 

"Howdotheylook?" Jughead asked, his mouth full of popcorn. 

"Jug, I know you like the popcorn, but please finish eating it first; I have no idea what you just said" Betty responded with a giggle. Rolling his eyes, Jughead held a finger up, signaling for Betty to hold on a second, and he finished eating the popcorn. 

"I said 'how do they look?'" he repeated as his eyes drifted to the papers Betty held. Betty held up the paper so Jughead could see the poster, and she smiled brightly. She noticed Jughead was rotating his head slightly and before she could ask what was wrong, he said "I think they look good, but there seems to be one small problem," a serious expression on his face. The smile on Betty's face evaporated as Jughead said you're holding them upside down" and he doubled over in laughter.

"Jughead Jones! That is not even a little bit funny!" Betty shrieked as she attempted to hold in her laughter. She set down the papers she had been holding and walked over to Jughead, cuffing his arm playfully as he straightened up. 

"Oh come on, it was hilarious. Admit it" he replied lightly, causing Betty to smile and dissolve into a fit of giggles. "Told you! You should have seen your face!" Jughead said smugly as Betty nodded her head and rolled her eyes. 

"How about we hand out the paper on Monday and hang the extra copies up in the hallways so more people will know about the meeting?" Betty suggested, and Jughead nodded and pulled her in for a side hug in response. It took Betty a moment to react; she was surprised by the hug. It was rare for Jughead to show any kind of physical affection beyond a high five, and the times he had initiated contact could be counted on one hand. Despite her confusion, Betty was happy and glad to see Jughead was too, so she dismissed her confusion and relaxed into the hug. 

"I don't have to be home yet, do you want to order some pizza and watch a movie or something?" Jughead asked as he pulled away from Betty and walked towards the couch, where he sat down comfortably. 

"Ok, that sounds good" Betty responded. "Will you call in the order while I go up to my room for a minute? I'm a little cold and honestly kind of want to change into my pjs" she asked from the second stair.

"You know it's not even 7:00, right? That's pretty early to change into pjs" Jughead teased from the couch with an amused smirk and a raised eyebrow.

After glancing at her watch, Betty responded "It's 6:58; that's close enough! Besides, you don't know the struggle of being in a skirt all day--it gets tiring after a while!" Jughead laughed and nodded in confirmation, so she turned around and ran up to her room to change.

* * *

As Betty changed out of her clothes and into black jogger pants and an oversized sweatshirt, Jughead sat on the couch downstairs, listening to the ringing on the other end of the line, waiting for someone to pick up. After what seemed like forever, someone finally picked up and said "hello, you have reached Daletown's Delivery Pizza; how may I help you?"

"I'd like to order four pizzas: two cheese, one Hawaiian, and one meat lover's pizza."

"What is the address for the delivery?"

"Um..." Jughead's mind went blank as he tried to remember Betty's address before continuing. "Give me one second, please" he said to the guy on the other end of the line. "Betty? What is your address again? I always mix it up with Archie's address!" he yelled up to Betty. From the top of the stairs, Betty rolled her eyes and made her way down. After telling Jughead the address, the repeated it to the pizza guy and hung up the phone. 

"You could have just looked at the numbers in front of the house or gone outside; you know that right?" Betty asked as she sat down next to Jughead. 

"Yeah, but you and I both know I am way to lazy for that" Jughead chuckled. "But we don't need to talk about my laziness," he continued. "We have an important matter to discuss: what should we watch?"he asked, handing the remote to Betty.

After a moment of consideration, Betty responded, "how about '10 Things I Hate About You?' It's a classic, and it's funny."

"No way; I am not watching a rom-com! I am also not going to let you rent the movie before I read the synopsis; I learned my lesson from that time we watched 'Titanic' at Archie's with Kevin. I still can't believe you guys didn't tell me it was a romance and let me think it was a historical fiction documentary-style film before we watched it!" Betty laughed a little at the memory, and she recalled the way Jughead had pulled his beanie so far down on his head it covered his eyes every time there was a sappy scene. 

"Alright, alright! I get it: no romantic movies" she said as she raised her hands in surrender, causing Jughead nodded in approval. After a couple minutes of debating about movies, Betty said "okay, how about for the next few minutes we take turns naming movies until we agree on one. The only rule is we have to have it picked out by the time the pizza gets here." 

"Agreed. But no rom-coms."

"Only if you don't pick something really old, like 'Gaslight' or something else from so long ago that the graphics are bad."

"Fine, but 'Gaslight" is a great movie. You go first."

"Ok, what about 'Rear Window,' also known as the best Hitchcock movie in existence."

Jughead nodded, then said "I literally just watched that a couple weeks ago. What about 'Star Trek?' I know you think Captain Kirk is funny, so don't even pretend you hate that movie."

"I can't watch a space movie right now, Jug. No explosions, please!" Betty yawned as she curled up at the end of the couch and wrapped herself in a blanket. It was clear she was starting to get tired, even though it wasn't that late. Her eyes darted around the room as she thought about what movie she could suggest, but Jughead was getting a little impatient and decided to keep listing movies while Betty thought. 

"Christopher Nolan films are good, what about 'Inception' or something else with magic, like 'Now You See Me?' Oh or 'Star Wars'--which is very different from 'Star Trek'--or something animated, like 'Big Hero 6.' Throwbacks are always good, too! There's 'Back to the Future,' 'Ferris Bueller's Da--'"

"That one!" Betty interrupted, smiling. "I love that movie; it's so funny," she lowered her voice before continuing "and given how we spent the day, I think it's kind of fitting." She turned on the T.V. while Jughead got up to look through a small box of cCDs the Coopers kept in the living room in search of the movie they had agreed upon.

"Found it!" he exclaimed, holding up the disk case, triumphantly, and at the same time, the doorbell rang. 

"That should be the pizza, I got it!" Betty said, springing up from her place on the couch. She opened the door to pay the guy who had delivered their pizza, having completely forgotten she was in her pjs. "Thank you," she said, closing the door.

"Anytime," the guy responded just before she shut the door. "Just make sure that whenever you're ordering pizza next, you wear the exact same thing," he said, winking, before he turned around and walked back to the delivery car. Betty glanced down at her pjs and her face flushed red in both anger and embarrassment.

She whipped around to face Jughead, screaming "did he really just say that to me?" as Jughead took the four boxes of pizza from her. 

"I think he did," Jughead said. disgust visible on his face. 

"Why is it that guys think they can just hit on me wherever and whenever they want? I'm not even wearing anything fancy; I'm in a sweatshirt and--oh," Betty said, glancing down, realizing she wasn't wearing a bra. She fell silent and crossed her arms in frustration. 

"Ignore him, Betty. He was being a jerk," Jughead said, beckoning for her to grab some pizza and come sit on the couch next to him. "Wanna talk for a little bit before we start the movie?" Jughead asked as she sat down, sensing Betty's happy mood. She nodded and took a bite out of the slice of cheese pizza she had grabbed from the box Jughead hadn't even bothered to bring to the kitchen; he just held it in his lap for fast, easy access to the cheesy slices of goodness inside. 

A few seconds later, Betty sighed and turned to Jughead. "Jug, why is it that people always seem to want to hook up, but no one ever wants romance?" Jughead's eyes widened at the question; he did not know how to respond. "I mean, is my personality so bad that people are fine with the idea of fooling around but they don't want to commit to being in a relationship with me?" Betty continued, her voice cracking when she said _relationship_. She was doing her best not to cry; she knew it made Jughead uncomfortable, but when Jughead said her name softly, she turned to him and couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer. 

"Betty, I'm sure that's not it. It's just that guys are jerks. And, well, I guess I wouldn't really know, but everyone else our age craves a strong connection to others. It can be emotional or physical, and whereas emotional connection takes time and work, physical connection, just..doesn't." Betty nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Why don't you, Jug? I mean, it's just that I never see you go for anyone, even though you totally could." Jughead sucked in a nervous breath at this; he was not ready to have this conversation. 

"Betty, I--" he was interrupted by the feeling of Betty's lips crashing down on his, and he went stiff for a second before he recoiled in confusion and discomfort. 

Betty backed away, and her face was unreadable, but her eyes seemed sad. Nodding, she said "I'm sorry Jug, I'm such a mess right now. It's just that's not the first time I've been rudely hit on and with school being stressful, all this talk about Polly coming home, and my parents always arguing that was just the last straw. I kind of just..snapped. I'm really sorry, I think it's best if you go home. If you don't want to be my friend anymore, I get it; I know we're just friends and don't have a relationship like that." Jughead had been ready to leave as soon as Betty kissed him, and he had already slipped on his shoes, stood up, and grabbed a box of pizza to take with him. But hearing Betty's words made him turn around and look at her sobbing form curled up on the end of the couch. With a heavy sigh, he turned around and set the pizza box down, slipping off his shoes in the process. He saw how upset Betty was, and he couldn't just leave when she was in such a distressed state--she was his friend, and even though it might be awkward--he couldn't just abandon her. 

Betty felt the cushions sink on the other end of the couch as another person sat down, and she looked up, surprised to see Jughead hadn't left. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, and Jughead couldn't take it anymore, so he decided now was the time to talk to Betty about something he hadn't told anyone else yet. He had to do it now, before he chickened out.

"Betty?"

"Yeah?"

"I still want to be your friend, but you can't just...kiss me. I don't won't--no, I can't do that. And it's not because of you; it's like that with everyone. I just don't feel attraction, romantic or sexual, towards anyone. And the idea of being, uh, intimate with someone makes me feel uncomfortable. It's not even because of how people look, so I'm saying it has to do with that. I just...can't" Jughead said, talking faster as he went on. He fidgeted with his hands the whole time, and only when he was done did he look up at Betty, much like she had looked to him earlier, only now he was the one with fear in their eyes.

"Jughead, I need to ask you something, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. Are you asexual?" Jughead's eyes locked with Betty's as the words left her mouth, and he nodded slowly. He looked away, but she grabbed his attention when she said "Jug, look at me." Smiling she said, "there is nothing wrong with that--at all. I'm really sorry i kissed you; I don't even know where that came from. It just seemed like what is supposed to happen in that situation, you know? I mean, on T.V. and in movies people always kiss in situations like that, and our friends seem to do it all the time, and I don't know...I just thought I was supposed to."

"Did you not actually want to?" Jughead asked quietly, and Betty shook her head in response.

"No, not really. I don't hate the idea of kissing, and it's not that bad, but I don't really enjoy it either. It is kind of just a way to pass the time, I guess. Although, I would never be able to make out with someone--much less go any further--if I didn't know them really well and trust them completely. It just seems kind of wrong to be so intimate and personal with someone you don't have an established friendship or relationship with."

"Wait a second, I'm confused. Are you asexual, too?" 

"To be honest, I don't know. It's like I kind of am, but not completely. I don't even know if that makes sense" Betty whispered uncertainly.

"It makes sense. I don't get it, but it's not crazy. You know, I bet there is a word for that or something; I didn't recognize half the words in the documents Kevin sent me. Wanna take a look?" Betty nodded.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Betty and Jughead were sitting on the floor, surrounded by piles of paper Betty had used to print out the documents Kevin sent Jughead the night before, and both of them were starting to become bored with looking over page after page of definitions and history. Betty was just about to call it quits when Jughead jumped up and said "I think I've got it!" Betty looked up at him as his eyes scanned the page before he started to read.

"So the word I found is 'demisexual' and the definition says a demisexual person is someone who doesn't experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone. Does that sound about right?" he asked, looking down in anticipation. 

"Let me see that," Betty said, taking the paper from his hands. She scanned it, and she seemed to relax as she read. Looking up at Jughead she nodded and said "that sounds accurate to me."

"I guess in my sleep-deprived state, I forgot some things from my research last night, one of those things being that asexuality is a spectrum," Jughead scratched the back of his neck and blushed. 

Betty smiled and stood up. "Thanks for staying, Jughead. I really needed a friend to talk to, and even though we didn't end up watching a movie and there was a moment I think we would both prefer not to talk about, I had a good time."

"Me too. But let's make an agreement real quick to never mention the 'incident,' as we will now refer to it, around our friends.

"Agreed."

"Ok, I should probably get going, but I'll see you tomorrow at the Wyrm" Jughead said, opening the door, only for his phone to ring.

"Hello?" he asked, picking it up without looking at the contact name.

"Jug, where are you?"

"Dad?" I'm at Betty's, but I'm about to drive home."

"No, do not do that! Ask Betty if you can stay at her house or go over to Archie's tonight!" Jughead distanced the phone from his ear due to the volume of FP's shouting. "There is some stuff going on tonight, and there are Ghoulies everywhere. No one knew they were doing drug runs tonight, but they are and it seems like they are dropping off at the Northside."

"What! Is everything ok?"

"Yes, just wait until tomorrow to go out, ok?""Alright, bye Dad. Be careful."

Jughead hung up and turned back to Betty, who was standing there with her arms crossed, having just heard the entire conversation.

"So, how about we watch that movie anyway?" Betty asked, a playful smirk on her face.

"Sounds good to me, but if I'm stating here tonight, you might want to plan on making an extra trip to the grocery store this week." 

"Of course," Betty replied, laughing. "I'd expect nothing less from you, Jughead." 


	5. The Morning After (It's Not What You Think)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter, they ended up having an unplanned sleepover. What happens the morning after? More shenanigans, of course!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, everyone! I *finally* updated, I know it's surprising. I just wanted to let you all know I am not abandoning this fic, life just got crazy for a while there. Also, after I finish this, I am probably going to go back and edit/clean up the story because I was re-reading it before I wrote this chapter and noticed a lot of small mistakes that are bothering me. I don't have a beta reader, so I'm not surprised there are errors, but I'm still annoyed by them...anyway, thanks for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos; it means a lot to me! Now, on to the story!
> 
> quick note: there is a small chunk of Archie/Veronica in this chapter where they kiss. It's mildly suggestive, but there is no smut, and the majority of the chapter is Betty and Jughead.

Jughead woke to the pleasant smell of eggs and bacon wafting through the trailer. Wait, he thought and looked around, quickly realizing his was not the trailer; it was betty’s house. He remembered what had happened last night and how he’d planned on going home but his dad called and told him to stay put because the ghoulies were out making drug runs. He grabbed his phone from the table next to the couch he’d slept on and quickly sent his dad a text to make sure everything was fine and let him know he was still at Betty’s.

“Well, look who’s finally awake,” someone said from the kitchen in a judgemental tone that could only belong to Mrs. Cooper. 

Rolling his eyes, Jughead said “Good morning Mrs. Cooper,” trying to sound as nice as possible. Normally, he wouldn’t bother, but she’d let him stay over last night and, more importantly, she was cooking breakfast, and Jughead was intent on getting some of it. “Is Betty up yet?” he asked her casually and she shook her head no. 

“You can wake her up if you want, but don’t stay up there too long; I don’t want any fooling around going on!”

“Not a problem, Mrs. Cooper,” he replied, bounding up the stairs. He turned down the hallway and knocked on Betty’s bedroom door. “Betty? You up?”

“One second!” she called from the other side of the door, and a few moments later she opened it. “Hey,” she smiled. 

“Your mom is making breakfast,” Jughead explained, motioning to the stairway toward the kitchen. 

“You got me up to tell me that my mom is making breakfast?” she said in a disbelieving tone.    
Jughead paused and whisper-yelled “and so that I wouldn’t have to be alone with her; we both know she doesn’t like me!”

“That is not true!” Betty said to comfort him, but as if on queue, Alice Cooper called up to them moments later.

“Jughead? Betty? Get down here, you know what I said earlier!” Jughead gave Betty a look as if to say ‘told you so’ before racing down the stairs. 

“I am right here, sorry for the delay,” he said with mock pleasantness. A second later, Betty appeared behind him. 

“Good morning, mom.”

“Good morning; I just wanted to let you know that breakfast is on the stovetop and you can eat it whenever you’re hungry, but I have to head out to the Register. There’s been a sighting of gang activity on this side of town and I need to write an article speculating as to who the buyer or buyers might be.”   
“Okay, see you tonight.”

“Bye,” Alice said with a wave as she walked out the door. Betty turned to where Jughead had been moments before only to see that he’d moved to the stove and was helping himself to the food. Betty grabbed some food for herself and sat down at the dining table, motioning for Jughead to do the same.

“So,” she said, filling the semi-awkward silence. Jughead turned to look at her and raised his eyebrows in question as he continued to eat. “Do you want to do anything fun today? We could go ahead and publish the online version of the Blue and Gold, and then maybe we could do something after that?”

“Actually, I was going to go over to Archie’s to listen to a few of his new songs later. I’m sure he’d appreciate it if you came too, though!”   
Shaking her head, Betty said “he’s over at Veronica’s all day; he texted me earlier and said to tell you he wouldn’t be available.” Jughead scowled; Archie seemed to be bailing on their hangouts a lot recently. First, he’d skipped the road trip this summer for Ms. Grundy of all people, and at the beginning of the school year he’d been busy with football as usual, only now he’d added what he liked to call ‘jam sessions’ with Josie and the Pussycats to his schedule. Now, he was over at Veronica’s to help her unload her moving boxes. It was all a little much for Jughead, but hopefully Archie would show up to the Wyrm tonight and they could talk about it. 

“Oh, ok,” he said dejectedly. As soon as he said it, he realized how it could come off and said “it’s not that I don’t want to hang out with you or anything, I just was excited about it.”

“It’s okay, I understand. Maybe I’ll just go look for a dress for the next school dance or something. I’ll see you later.”

“Wait! I know what I said seems like I was covering for not wanting to hang out, but I didn’t mean it like that. You know I’m just upset he hasn’t had time for me in a while, and he’s my best friend. At least he was, but I don’t know if you could call us that anymore.”

“Aw, Jug, don’t say that. He still cares about you, he’s just caught up in the need for a romantic partner or something.”

“What a waste of time,” Jughead muttered under his breath so Betty wouldn’t hear. She heard anyway and smiled. “So, what do you want to do?” he asked, changing the topic. 

“Well, I really do need to go shopping.” 

“Seriously?” Jughead asked and rolled his eyes.

“It will be quick, and we can go to the library, movie theater, or Pop’s afterwards!”

After a moment of hesitation, Jughead responded “fine. But only if you pay for my food.”

“Deal!” Betty said and ran to get ready to leave while Jughead freshened up and waited downstairs.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Veronica's house, Archie Andrews was moving boxes and shifting furniture, flashing a smile at Veronica every once in a while.   
  


"Thank you so much for doing this, Arch, I don't know how long it would have taken me to do it myself," Veronica said as he carried yet another box up the stairs and to her bedroom. 

He reappeared at the to top of the staircase and said "It's no problem, really. Besides, there are only a few boxes left, so it shouldn't be much longer before I'm out of your way."

"You are not in my way, Archiekins!" she insisted as he walked past. 

"I was just saying no one wants a sweaty guy walking around their new, clean house." 

"Oh, I don't know about that," Veronica said, watching Archie go up the stairs yet again. The jeans he was wearing were just tight enough to show off the muscles in his thighs and his fine ass but not so tight they looked uncomfortable or like skinny jeans, and his white shirt had gotten more and more see-through as the morning went by, giving Veronica a perfect view of his toned abs. He flashed a smile at her as he walked back down. Instead of walking to the now-small pile of boxes by the door, he stood in front of her. 

"Is that so?" he asked teasingly, stepping a little bit closer. 

"Depends on the guy," she said and bit her lip and leaned in. Archie did the same and the second their lips collided, it was like someone had lit a fuse: once it had started, there was no stopping it. Veronica's hands were in his hair, around his neck, and then they slid down his chest. Her lips opened slightly, allowing Archie to throw a little tongue in there before Veronica pulled away.

"What's wrong?" he asked, genuinely concerned. 

"Nothing. I just thought you might want to know that my parents won't be home anytime soon. Meaning, we have the house all to ourselves," she smirked before leaning in again and kissing Archie, her hands on his waist pulling his shirt off as he slid his own hands down her back and a little bit lower as well. This was going to be a good afternoon, he thought to himself as Veronica's back lightly hit a wall and she lifted her hips, wrapping her legs around him.Very good indeed. 

* * *

"No. No. Definitely not that one. No," Jughead said from a chair as Betty held up different dresses. 

"You aren't even looking, Jug. You're on your phone." Jughead looked up guiltily, not bothering to lie to Betty. 

"I'm sorry, it's just that this is so boring!"

"Ok, well don't forget there's a trip to Pop's with a paid burger in it for you later, so you might want to actually help."

"Fine," Jughead sighed over dramatically. "Just try the ones you really like on so we can go."  
"You're the best!" Betty called as she took a few dresses back to the changing room.

She tried them on one by one and Jughead took photos and a few videos with him in the background pretending to be some sort of announcer as she showed him the dresses. "And this one is real special, folks! It is a signature look for model Betty Cooper: light pink! The question is if she will stick to the classics or switch it up for this season's edition of Lame High School Dance." Betty laughed and gave a little twirl, and by the time they were done shopping, Jughead decided this could've been worse. It still wasn't his favorite activity, but Betty had let him be his cynical yet goofy self and hadn't taken too long, so it wasn't as horrible as he'd expected. If he'd gone with anyone else it probably would have been awful, he thought, approaching the passenger side of Betty's car. 

"Where to next?" Betty asked, climbing into the driver's seat and giving Jughead a bright smile. He gave her a knowing look and she laughed, shifting the car into reverse. "Pop's it is, then," she said and Jughead nodded in approval. 

"Ah, Betty, you know me so well," he said with a smile, looking forward to the rest of the day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as some of you may have noticed, there are now going to be eight chapters in this fic. As I was writing this chapter, I realized that because there are going to be a lot of scene changes and so many characters to focus on in the last few parts of the story, it would just be better to have more chapters, even if they're not as long. more chapters does not necessarily mean more time until the story is completed, though, so do not despair! I will try to update soon (for real this time) and once again, thanks for reading!


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